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Some lame duck pols get legislative goodies

“I’m not done yet, and I’m still a member of Congress,” Mack said. | AP Photo

Mack called the story “spin that this was all political payback” and “just false.”

He noted that he had been working on the bill for a long time and that it is not specific to Argentina — though the country is referred to 34 times in the legislation’s “findings” section, and no other nation is mentioned. It’s his right as an elected official to finish his work, Mack said.

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“I’m not done yet, and I’m still a member of Congress,” he said.

It’s now or never for Kissell, who is using part of his final month in office to push legislation he hopes will bring people together as Congress struggles to solve the nation’s financial woes: a resolution to honor the birth of Elvis Presley.

In an op-ed last week, Kissell argued that there’s no one better than the King to celebrate the culture of America and help Democrats and Republicans “communicate across the aisle and open the door to discussions about the big challenges our nation faces.”

Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), well-respected by members of both parties, was beat on Election Day but has moved forward with a bill to beef up a religious opt-out in Obamacare.

It remains to be seen how far the legislation will go with a few short weeks left in the 112th. But her departing message to her colleagues was crystal clear: Let’s get along.

“I urge my colleagues to stay close to their voters and true to their principles but to never let compromise become a dirty word. That’s what our constituents want; that’s what America needs,” she said on the House floor last week as she led special order speeches for those leaving the congressional life.

Member after member spoke about Biggert’s ability to bring people together. Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said it had been “a privilege” to serve with Biggert, and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) said she had helped bring him “along as a member of Congress.”

It’ll take a lame-duck miracle to get these pieces of legislation signed into law, but with the clock running out, there’s no time like the present to make the final push for a bill that usually wouldn’t see the light of day.

And more often than not, their colleagues are supportive.

“I hope they go out with an opportunity to go out and talk about legislation or have their legislation taken up,” said Connecticut Rep. John Larson, who will serve in the next Congress but is leaving his post as chairman of the Democratic Caucus. That’s the “decent” thing to do, he said.